Saint Joseph Mercy Health System builds on sustainability efforts with DTE Energy’s MIGreenPower program

Detroit, April 21, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) —

• St. Joe’s is the first health care system to enroll in MIGreenPower
• Clean energy commitment will avoid more than 7,800 tons of CO₂
• Furthers St. Joe’s ongoing efforts to increase sustainability initiatives throughout its operations

Saint Joseph Mercy Health System (SJMHS), part of Trinity Health Michigan, today announced its enrollment in DTE Energy’s MIGreenPower voluntary renewable energy program. Through the program, SJMHS will purchase 10,000 megawatt hours of clean energy, which will offset greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to driving an average passenger car 17.8 million miles.* The clean energy projects that will source this purchase are currently under development and will begin operating in 2023.

St. Joe’s participating hospitals are St. Joseph Mercy Ann Arbor, St. Joseph Mercy Oakland and St. Mary Mercy Livonia.

“For our patients, employees and communities, we know that reducing pollution is important to the health of both our bodies and our planet,” said Rob Casalou, president and CEO, Trinity Health Michigan. “We already have several measures in place to increase sustainability practices across our system. Enrolling in MIGreenPower helps us build on our own environmental targets and support a cleaner Michigan.” 

SJMHS joins more than 300 Michigan businesses and 28,000 residential customers who are using MIGreenPower to reduce their impact on the environment. Prominent business subscribers include General Motors, Ford Motor Company, the University of Michigan and the Detroit Zoo. Launched in 2017, MIGreenPower now ranks among the top three voluntary renewable energy programs in the U.S.

“We appreciate St. Joe’s participation in our MIGreenPower program,” said Trevor Lauer, president of DTE’s electric company. “The tremendous support we’ve received from St. Joe’s and the other businesses and residential customers who have joined this program is accelerating the development of Michigan-made renewable energy. Bringing more wind and solar energy to the grid helps create a clean energy future for all Michiganders. It also strengthens Michigan’s economy, supporting jobs and bringing additional revenue to rural communities.”

With 18 wind parks and 31 solar farms, DTE is Michigan’s leading renewable energy producer and investor. Since 2009, the company has driven investment of $3 billion in renewable energy infrastructure and will invest an additional $2 billion in wind and solar assets over the next three years. DTE’s renewable energy projects have created or sustained more than 4,000 Michigan jobs and generate enough clean energy to power 670,000 homes.

For more information on DTE’s MIGreenPower program, please visit www.migreenpower.com.

About Trinity Health Michigan 

Trinity Health Michigan is a leading health care provider and one of the state’s largest employers. With more than 20,000 full-time employees serving 23 counties, Trinity Health  Michigan is composed of eight hospitals, including the five hospitals of Saint Joseph Mercy Health System located in Ann Arbor, Chelsea, Howell, Livonia and Pontiac, and the three-hospital Mercy Health, operating in Grand Rapids and Muskegon. The health system has 2,233 beds and 3,600 physicians. With operating revenues of $3.6 billion, Trinity Health Michigan returns $232 million back to their local communities each year. Together with numerous ambulatory care locations, two home health agencies, one hospice agency and 22 senior living communities owned and/or operated by Trinity Health, Trinity Health Michigan provides the full continuum of care for Michigan residents. 

Nationally, Trinity Health is among the country’s largest Catholic health care systems. Based in Livonia, Michigan, with operations in 22 states, Trinity Health employs about 123,000 colleagues, including 6,800 physicians and clinicians. The system has annual operating revenues of $18.8 billion and returns about $1.3 billion to its communities annually in the form of charity care and other community benefit programs. For more information, visit www.trinity-health.org.

About DTE Energy

DTE Energy (NYSE: DTE) is a Detroit-based diversified energy company involved in the development and management of energy-related businesses and services nationwide. Its operating units include an electric company serving 2.2 million customers in Southeast Michigan and a natural gas company serving 1.3 million customers in Michigan. The DTE portfolio includes energy businesses focused on power and industrial projects, renewable natural gas, natural gas pipelines, gathering and storage, and energy marketing and trading. As an environmental leader, DTE will reduce carbon dioxide and methane emissions by more than 80 percent by 2040 to produce cleaner energy while keeping it safe, reliable and affordable. DTE is committed to serving with its energy  through volunteerism, education and employment initiatives, philanthropy and economic progress. Information about DTE is available at dteenergy.com, empoweringmichigan.com, twitter.com/dte_energy and facebook.com.

*Avoided emissions and equivalencies are based on the Environmental Protection Agency equivalencies calculator at epa.gov/energy/greenhouse-gas-equivalencies-calculator.

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